Wisdom of Crowds

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveChristine and Damir kick things off by discussing a memoir about the fall of Communism in Albania. Damir reflects on his own post-Communist background, and ponders why Communist nostalgia affects only some countries, while others are not looking back. He wonders whether Christine is becoming a Communist herself after reading her essay about “Limitarianism,” a school of political thought that favors a cap on extreme wealth. Christine unpacks her own ideas about economic justice and democracy, and considers whether the Communist past in Europe should influence American political ideas for the future. For paid subscribers, the bonus part of the episode focuses on whether the United States or Europe has the better economic system, and whether European dreams of a “green” economy can survive competition with China.Required Reading:* Free: Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi.* The full story behind Joyce Carol Oates’ infamous tweet.* Damir’s Monday Note about Lea Ypi’s book.* Limitarianism by Ingrid Robeyns* “What Would Society Look Like if Extreme Wealth Were Impossible?” by Christine Emba (The Atlantic)* “The Price of Peace is Stagnation” by Janan Ganesh (The Financial Times)This post is part of our collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Governance and Markets.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveThis week’s podcast is a recording of a live event. Rachel M. Cohen, a senior policy reporter for Vox, recently published an essay where she asks: “To our generation, being a mom looks thankless, exhausting, and lonely. Can we change the story?” As listeners know, this question speaks right to the heart of Wisdom of Crowds. Christine and Shadi invited Rachel to discuss her piece before a live audience in Washington, DC on March 20. The topics of conversation included marriage, singleness, hope, dread, and love. For paid subscribers, the bonus content is an intense Q&A with the audience, where the Crowd challenges the panelists on several points.Required Reading:* “Why Millennials Learned to Dread Motherhood,” by Rachel M. Cohen (Vox).* “Men are Lost. Here’s a Map Out of the Wilderness,” by Christine Emba (Washington Post).* Shadi Hamid, “The Dilemmas of Living in a Post-Religious World” (Washington Post).

America is badly polarized. It’s a fact so pervasively acknowledged that pointing it out starts to feel like saying the sky is blue. Unlike a blue sky, however, growing polarization in America presents a difficult challenge. Because America is both incredibly diverse and a vibrant democracy, polarization starts to eat away at our politics.Many attempts have been made to deal with polarization. A lot of it has to do with putting people with diverging perspectives face-to-face in an attempt to try to find common ground. Here at Wisdom of Crowds, we have tackled the problem by taking only half of this approach: we insist that people in disagreement confront each other, but with no expectation of common ground emerging. We frequently talk about “deep difference.” We believe it’s naive to think that through reasoned discourse we can reach compromise positions. That does violence to the power of ideas and the strength of belief. We think it’s both healthier and more realistic to acknowledge that certain differences can’t be reconciled, and to instead direct the conversation toward respectful mutual interrogation — where the discussants push each other to excavate why they believe what they believe.Jen Murtazashvili is one person who is profoundly aligned with what we’re doing. She first came on the Wisdom of Crowds podcast in August of 2021 to talk about America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. But both Shadi and Damir had gotten to know her almost a year earlier, during the start of COVID, when she kindly invited them both to participate in an online seminar about modus vivendi liberalism. Jen’s extensive work on Afghanistan had given her cause to be suspicious of top-down thinking that nation-building requires. She understands that societies are built from the bottom-up, from local insights, from particularism. Difference can’t be papered over.We have been planning to collaborate more with Jen’s Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh for some time. Today, we’re pleased to announce that collaboration is kicking off. In the coming months, you will see podcast episodes and essays that will carry the CGM logo, featuring guests and writers and thinkers that the three of us have decided we need to engage with. First principles and the spirit of modus vivendi will animate all of it.To launch the collaboration, we wanted to have Jen on the podcast. We didn’t explicitly set out to model exactly what we hope to achieve with the collaboration. But with the Gaza War in the background, it was impossible that we wouldn’t get to discussing it. As you’ll hear below, the conversation is deeply felt and argued — and remains unresolved. That’s as it should be. (The paywall is down on this one, so everyone can give it a listen.)We walked away from it energized to do more. We hope, dear listeners, you feel the same way. And you join us as we continue our Governing Deep Differences project.Required Reading (and Listening):* “Community Before Politics,” by Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili (Discourse Magazine).* “Two Friends — One Jewish, One Muslim — Have an Answer to Campus Conflict, by Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili and Abdesalam Soudi (Tablet).* “All Aboard the Compassion Bus — with Jen Murtazashvili,” on Ask a Jew Podcast (Apple).* A tweet by Senator Fetterman (X).* “The U.S. has more in common with South America than Europe,” by Samuel Goldman (The Week).* “Hamas’ Bid for Revolutionary Legitimacy,” by Damir Marusic (WoC).This post is part of our collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Governance and Markets.Wisdom of Crowds is a platform challenging premises and understanding first principles on politics and culture. Join us! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

Editor’s note: We haven’t done an episode quite like this before. I absolutely loved this conversation with the novelist Jordan Castro, one of the most exciting young American authors writing today. Because it was such a rich conversation, we’re leaving out the paywall so that everyone can have a listen. —Shadi Hamid, co-founder, Wisdom of CrowdsWhat’s it actually like to be a novelist? And how does literary success—and some amount of fame and notoriety—change how people think of you? Special guest Jordan Castro joins Shadi and Santiago to talk about his novel, The Novelist, internet culture, converting to Christianity, his heroin addiction, love and, of course, literature. At nearly two hours it’s a rich and, dare we say it, epic chat on the stuff of life. If you’ve ever wanted to get in the brain of a writer, you won’t want to miss this. Really. Required Reading:* The Novelist by Jordan Castro* Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on René Girard* New anthology of Girard’s essential writings* Varieties of Religious Experience by William James* The Present Age: On the Death of Rebellion by Søren Kierkegaard* Dante: “I found myself within a forest dark …”* Plato’s Myth of the Cave in the Republic* Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert* The Perpetual Orgy: Flaubert and Madame Bovary by Mario Vargas Llosa* Maxime du Camp* Substance Abuse National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveIn a late-night confab, Damir and Sam explore the meaning of experiences of wonder, which they each have written about for Wisdom of Crowds.For Sam, these unique experiences are the foundation for his beliefs about the nature of the world and human life. Damir, on the other hand, does not believe that the experience of wonder necessarily leads to metaphysical questions. This freewheeling, stay-up-all-night fever dream of a conversation covers the pitfalls of therapy, the science of happiness, and lots of ancient Greek literature.Required Reading:* Damir’s piece, “A Lost Sense of Wonder,” Wisdom of Crowds* Sam’s piece, “Desire, Sadness, and the World,” Wisdom of Crowds* Oliver Traldi, “Do You Know What You Want?”, Wisdom of Crowds* Charles Taylor, Sources of the Self* Charles Taylor, A Secular Age* Parmenides’ fragments

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveA recently-published memoir making headlines suggests a trend: Polyamory is going mainstream among high-status Americans. Culture critic and environmental studies professor Tyler Austin Harper joins Christine and Shadi to make sense of this fad, and explain why it’s both an upper-class luxury and a raw deal. Along the way they discuss happiness, self-expression, race, love, self-immolation, parenting, and a better way to live. Required Reading:* Tyler Austin Harper, “Polyamory, the Ruling Class’s Latest Fad.”* Tyler Austin Harper, “I’m a Black Professor. You Don’t Need to Bring That Up.”* Tyler Austin Harper, “The 100-Year Extinction Panic Is Back, Right on Schedule.”* Shadi Hamid, “Is Polyamory the Future?”* Molly Roden Winter, More: A Memoir of Open Marriage.* Janet W. Hardy and Dossie Easton, The Ethical Slut.* Philip Rieff, The Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith after Freud.* Christine Emba, Rethinking Sex: A Provocation.This post is part of our collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Governance and Markets.Wisdom of Crowds is a platform challenging premises and understanding first principles on politics and culture. Join us!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveChristine and Damir discuss two personal essays from New York magazine that went viral last week. The first deals with divorce, the second with getting scammed. A flabbergasted Damir can’t believe they were published; he wonders if anyone outside New York would care to read them. Christine finds ironic wisdom buried in both essays. The conversation ends on a high note, with Christine explaining how one of the essays breaks new ground in the media monoculture. Required Reading:* Emily Gould, “The Lure of Divorce,” New York magazine.* Charlotte Cowls, “The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger,” New York magazine. * Christine’s three theories about the above essays.* Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation.* Kristen Roupenian, “Cat Person”.* Ross Douthat, The Decadent Society.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveJason Blakely of Pepperdine University joins Shadi and Damir to discuss his new book, Lost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life. A professor of political science, Jason claims that everyone has an ideology. The point is to be aware of it, and to remember that there’s always more to reality than your ideology can explain. Damir doesn’t buy it. The quest for power, he thinks, is what ultimately drives politics, not ideas. Meanwhile, Shadi tries to figure out Jason’s ideology. Required Reading:* Jason’s new book, Lost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life* Jason’s controversial Harper’s essay, “Doctor’s Orders”* Jason’s old book, We Built Reality: How Social Science Infiltrated Culture, Politics, and Power* Jorge Luis Borges, “On Exactitude in Science”* Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan* Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince* Thomas More, Utopia* Desiderius Erasmus, In Praise of Folly* Anthony Fauci, “I represent science” statement and backlashThis post is part of our collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Governance and Markets.Wisdom of Crowds is a platform challenging premises and understanding first principles on politics and culture. Join us!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveOur brand new Executive Editor, Santiago Ramos, joins Shadi and Damir to discuss his first-ever essay for Wisdom of Crowds, “Empathy for the Devil.” The essay is about the need for cognitive empathy in politics. But Damir wants to discuss something slightly different: Whether “the Good,” as a category, is something real, out in the world, or whether it is completely contingent on tribal allegiances. Santiago comes to the Good’s defense, and Shadi joins him in a good cop/also good cop situation.Required Reading & Listening:* Shadi’s big announcement* Santiago’s writing* Santiago’s debut Wisdom of Crowds essay, “Empathy for the Devil”* Robert Wright’s Nonzero Newsletter* The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil”* Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and the Margarita* Maurice Blondel, in the International Encyclopedia of Philosophy* Amy Winehouse, “You Know I’m No Good”Wisdom of Crowds is a platform challenging premises and understanding first principles on politics and culture. Join us!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wisdomofcrowds.liveAre ideas overrated? Shadi’s recent column (and controversial tweet) exploring the reasons behind Trump’s popularity launches a discussion about what exactly drives politics. Are politicians motivated by winning more than ideology? Do voters respond to strong personalities, rather than policies and promises?As expected, Damir makes a case for “materialism” over ideas. Shadi isn’t totally convinced.Required Reading:* Shadi, “The Peculiar Moderation of Donald Trump,” Washington Post, 1/25/2024* Shadi’s tweet* Bruno Maçães’ tweet* David Ignatius, “The Midwest Tacks Hard Toward a Mideast ‘Moment of Truth’,” Washington Post, 2/1/2024* Eduardo Porter, “Republicans’ Immigration Bill is Not Serious Legislation,” Washington Post, 2/2/2024* Thomas Friedman, “A Biden Doctrine for the Middle East is Forming. And it’s Big,” New York Times, 1/31/2024* Bruno Maçães on Wisdom of Crowds